1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ramps and, more specifically, to a hitch receiver mountable tailgate ramp providing means for loading and unloading heavy articles by wheeling said articles, such as snow blowers, motorcycles, etc. up and down the ramp as desired.
The ramp has an arched shape when deployed to displace the load during use between the ramp's surface engaging edge and the hitch mount thereby creating a ramp with a greater load capacity as opposed to a linear segmented ramp. Furthermore, the pinned ramp prevents casual displacement of the ramp during use.
An articulated arm has a post portion mountable within a vehicle hitch receiver with pivotal ramp segments hingedly mounted thereto. When not in use the ramp can be folded into an upright position substantially coplanar with the truck's closed tailgate.
In operation the ramp is extended by pivoting the interior ramp segment until the ramp is in its arched position while the articulated post is lowered into its linear position. Once deployed the tailgate is lowered wherethen the articulated arm can be extended or retracted and pinned so that the lip of the ramp is approximate the edge of the tailgate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other ramp devices designed for trucks. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,440 issued to Wilson on Nov. 14, 1967.
Another patent was issued to Stenson on Feb. 15, 1972 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,156. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,549 was issued to Stelly, et al. on Oct. 23, 1984 and still yet another was issued on Dec. 28, 1993 to Belnap et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,335.
Another patent was issued to Floe on Jul. 23, 1996 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,308. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,474 was issued to Holland on Jul. 30, 1996 Another was issued to Jordan et al. on Jul. 22, 1997 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,732 and still yet another was issued on Jun. 20, 2000 to Blankenship et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,215.
Another patent was published to Ives on Jan. 24, 1999 as Canadian Patent No. CA2,211,349. Yet another U.K. Patent No. GB2215301 was published to Thelwell on Sep. 20, 1989. Another was published to Meighen on Mar. 3, 2001 as Canadian Patent No. CA 2281322 and still yet another was published on Mar. 19, 2004 to Tremblay as U.S. Pat. No. 2,441,358.